Social Media
by reilert79
Summary: Chris gets to lead a squad during an officer's strike. She finds out about a post made of Facebook that says cops are going to be killed. Can she find this guy before he kills anyone, and the blood is on her hands?


Social Media

***Chris and David's Apartment***

Chris is having her breakfast, looking at the NYC skyline. David was getting ready for work, and Chris was going to have to leave soon. She loved looking at the skyline each day, it was always so pretty to her.

"Babe, you still here?"

"Yes, honey, in the kitchen". Chris was doing the breakfast dishes and packing herself a lunch.

"Turn the news on, they are talking about the NYPD. Channel 4".

She turned it on. Natalie Morales was reporting a breaking news story.

"Just to recap our top story, the police officers of the NYPD have gone out on strike, after their talks with the union Contract negotiators failed. All detectives are being asked to fill in until the strike is over".

Chris turned the TV off. She hurried and got her things together, to head to work. She had a feeling it was going to be a long day.

David came out of the bedroom just then.

"Do you think you are going to fill in, babe?"

"If I know my boss, and I think I do, I have a feeling that the detectives are going to be put back in uniform, and those of us higher up than the detectives will be filling in for them. I suppose there is a possibility after all that I could be leading a precinct again, but I haven't heard".

"Well, whatever you do today, be careful. I love you". He kissed her then, and they got their stuff together and walked out the door together and towards the parking garage. He helped her into the car, gave her a final kiss and then she headed to work and he headed to his law firm.

***Feldberg's office***

Mary Beth and Chris are standing in Feldberg's office along with a few other detective teams.

"Ok, so as you all know, the uniforms went on strike. That means we have to fill in at the precincts so that those detectives can fill in on the streets. You aren't going to be picking up on their cases they are already working on, but you are going to be catching new ones. After the strike is over, you will come back here and it will be business as usual. Here are the precinct assignments:

Cagney-Keeler and Lacey- Chris, you are going to be running the 12th precinct. Lacey, you will be there too, assisting her in whatever she needs. Smith/Bronwyn- you guys are going to the 18th precinct; Lovett and Holmes, the 6th, and Scott and Thomas, the 9th."

Everyone filed out and Chris and Mary Beth headed back to their office.

"What does that mean, that I am assisting you? Like a secretary?"

"No, not like a secretary. Kind of like how I assisted Samuels as his second whip at the 14th".

Chris' phone started going crazy with people texting her.

"Ha! Mary Beth, guess who is joining us at the 12th?"

"Who?"

"Isbecki, Carassa, and Coleman!"

"Wow, I haven't seen Coleman since I retired, and I haven't seen Carassa since Manny Esposito's funeral. It will be good to see both of them".

Chris and Mary Beth packed up their offices with just the essentials and headed to the 12th.

***12th precinct***

Chris and Mary Beth walked in and were shown to the office Chris was gonna be using during the strike. It was big enough, so Chris had an officer move a desk for Mary Beth in there as well.

Isbecki strolled in, and was happy to see everyone, including Chris.

"Hey Mrs. Keeler! Are you going by Keeler now?"

Chris nodded. "Keeler mostly, but Cagney-Keeler sometimes too. In a few months, I plan to just be Keeler. How are you Victor?"

"I am well. This is going to be fun; I am ready for a change".

"Well you are going to be partners with Carassa, he should be here any moment".

Coleman came in, and she put him in charge of the uniforms and gave him control over scheduling their shifts.

Carassa came in, gave Chris and Mary Beth a hug and kiss, and she partnered him with Victor. Chris called a precinct meeting to introduce herself, and Mary Beth, along with Victor and Isbecki to the other detectives who were assigned to work with them.

Since none of them were already partners, she and Mary Beth made partner assignments at random and handed them out. She asked them to work an 8-5 schedule, or a 9-6 if they could, and to bear with her, as she was new at running her own squad as well.

She sent them to work on cases that were coming in then, and she and Mary Beth retreated to their office.

She sent David a text telling him she had been assigned to the 12th, and that she was probably going to work till 6 that night, so that she could meet the night squad.

"Be careful, see you at home. Love you".

Mary Beth had turned on the TV in their office so that they could keep up on the strike. All the news outlets were covering it, trying to find any angle they could to crucify the NYPD in the press.

Chris decided to put Isbecki and Carassa in charge of the social media unit for the 12th. They are now in charge of following up on leads that were posted on social media, and running the precinct's social media accounts. Isbecki and Carassa got to work, and about 30 minutes later stumbled onto something.

"Lieutenant, come here and look at this". Isbecki never called Chris Lieutenant unless it was serious.

He had a post on Facebook pulled up that was from a known gang member. The post indicated that this guy, who was named "Lil Boss Man", was tired of people dying at the hands of the police, so he was going to start "dropping uniforms" and getting revenge.

"Have you ever dealt with him before, Isbecki?"

"Not in a while. But the gang he claims to be part of, the Crossroad Vices, they are tough as hell, Lieutenant. They are one of the meanest, roughest street gangs, most of them live in a shooting gallery and regularly beat up anyone who stands in their way".

"Well, we need to find him, ASAP!". Chris headed to her office and called the Inspector of Police to inform him that they had found this post.

"Dated last night, Inspector, and I think it's credible. I have Detectives Isbecki and Carassa in charge of finding him and bringing him in for questioning…ok will do…thank you Inspector".

Chris hung up, and looked at Mary Beth. We need to print that posting and print pictures of him if we can, and send out a BOLO to each and every precinct"

"On it, Chris". Mary Beth headed to Victor's desk and started making the flyer.

Chris headed to her laptop and pulled up Lil' Boss Man's rap sheet.

He and the police had been friends for years, going back 12 years just on the misdemeanors. Felonies were dispersed in there as well, and they were big ones. He had been accused of attempted murder twice, and several weapons charges, along with multiple robberies and thefts.

"Mary Beth- come look at this". She hurried back into the office.

"On that flyer, put that he should be considered armed and extremely dangerous and to approach with caution. Look at his rap sheet." She turned the laptop towards her so she could look for herself.

"Geez Louise, Chris, this guy is a walking time bomb!".

"We are going to find him, and we are going to do it before he kills anyone, officer or not".

Mary Beth got the flyer made, and sent it to all precincts. Chris called dispatch and had them bulletin all precincts, and she called Samuels and asked him to come to the 12th.

She needed a favor and he was the best man to help her out.

***Outside in the parking bay***

Samuels and Chris are talking.

"Running the place is tough, Chris, but if anyone can do it, you can. I believe in you, but you gotta believe in you too".

"It's not that Lieutenant, I do believe in me. I just don't want to screw this up and have someone's death be on my hands. Now we made the flyer, we made the call to dispatch, I called the inspector and informed him. Do I call the media also, or have I done enough?"

"That's a tough call, Christine. Personally, I would not do anything else today. Let Victor and Al get some leads on him before you tip him off. Stay ahead of him, and give your guys a chance".

She nodded. He was right, if she called the news now and Lil' Boss Man ran, that would look like she didn't have faith in Isbecki and Carassa. She was going to have to wait.

"Now if the Inspector tells you to call them, call them. Isbecki and Carassa will understand that you were just following orders. Don't sweat the small stuff Chris, this will be over soon".

"Thanks, Lieutenant. Listen I gotta get back in there, but thanks for coming".

"Anytime Chris, I am just a phone call away".

***Chris and Mary Beth's new office***

Chris had pulled up Lil' Boss Man's Facebook profile, and was following it very closely. If he checked in, she wanted to know about it. She had pulled up his last known address as of the time of his last conviction, and had radioed Isbecki and Carassa what it was, they were going to go check it out.

Chris and Mary Beth ate lunch while they worked that day, and kept tabs on Social Media as well as on the news.

Isbecki called Chris and told her that they had gone to his last known address and that the building had been torn down- in fact the whole block had been torn down. An apartment building was going to be built there where the houses had been.

Isbecki had put a call in to his gang squad, and they were working to track down some known gang members who might could turn him over. It was a long shot, but they had nothing to lose.

Chris and Mary Beth worked right up until 5 p.m., when the new shift came on. Chris quickly introduced herself, and then filled them in on the case and told them to keep looking for him, and to call/text her the minute they know anything.

"I live right uptown, so please call me if you need something, I can be right here in a few minutes, honest".

They nodded and got to work. Isbecki said he would monitor the accounts from home, and Chris assigned a pair of detectives to monitor them from the precinct as well.

They all headed home around 6, anxious to find this guy before he killed anyone.

***Chris and David's apartment***

David got home before Chris, and had dinner waiting for her when she got home. He had made them homemade Chicken piccata, and one of her favorite salads, strawberry walnut with bacon.

He was sitting on the couch, watching the news when she came in.

"Hey babe!". He got up and walked over to her and kissed her.

"Hi honey". She kissed him back but she looked distracted.

"Dinner is ready, so go change your clothes and get comfortable. I will fix our plates".

"You're a lifesaver, honey". She kissed him again and went to go change into her comfy clothes. She was so stressed and checking her phone every few minutes. Nothing.

She walked back into the den, and turned up the news. David had their plates at the table, and she grabbed herself a glass of water.

She joined him at the table, and he noticed that she was very stressed.

"Hard day, babe?"

"The hardest. Not only am I running a precinct, but some gang member posted on Facebook that he was going to start killing cops so that he can exact revenge on the cops that have taken innocent lives. We are trying to find him and coming up short, and I just know that if he kills someone, it's going to be on my hands".

He reached over and rubbed her back.

"Babe, the truth is, the citizens blame the police for a lot of things, but you guys are just as human as the rest of us, and while you might get blamed for it, it would be just that. Blame, not responsibility. People might think it was your fault, but it's really not".

She sighed. "I hate days like today. It's like someone, somewhere, sees you and says "Oh, she seems to be enjoying her job. Let's throw everything at her that we can, and see if we can change that. And then, just to make it even more fun, let's do it all in one day".

She looked at David. "Thanks for making dinner, this is really good. I am sorry I am not good company".

"It's ok, babe. We will get through it".

She finished her dinner and then got up to do the dishes.

"Let me. Why don't you go take a long, hot bath?"

"Good idea. Wanna join me in a few minutes?"

"You bet."

"Make sure to save the leftovers". She kissed him and headed for the bath.

***David and Chris' bathroom***

Chris started the bath and got her phone charger from her bedroom. She plugged the phone up in the bathroom, and threw in the relaxing bath salts, and grabbed some towels. She disrobed, and climbed in. she turned the jets on, and let them do their magic. David came in, lit some candles and climbed in beside her.

He wrapped his arms around her and just held her.

"We need a TV in here. Right up there". She pointed to the top of the wall opposite them.

"Really, you want a TV in here?" she nodded. "Yes, I do".

He kissed the side of her face then, and pulled her close.

"You know, the old me, the drunk me, would have been staring at the bottom of the bottle right now on a day like this… I would have been ½ way lit before I got home even. Now, I can't imagine drinking on days like this. Now I just want to come home and relax and not think about it".

"That's good, Chris. That means your sobriety is working".

"Did you ever think you could love the sober me? When I was drinking, I mean".

"I loved you from the start, regardless of whether you were sober or not. And when you weren't, and I was having to really help you get from one minute to the next, I didn't see you as a drunk. I saw you as a person in pain, a person that I would do anything for to get rid of that pain".

"I have one regret in life, no wait- make that two. One regret is that I wasn't able to save Charlie. The other regret is that I pushed you away all those years ago, and we wasted all this time we could have been spending together".

"I don't see as wasted, Chris. I see it as a learning experience for both of us. I learned that what I thought I wanted wasn't really what I wanted, and wasn't in the cards for me, and that you are the only one I want to do life with".

"And I learned that second chances are sometimes the best shots you will get". She kissed him.

"Are you happier sober? I mean deep down?"

She nodded. "It would be nice to be able to go out and have a margarita or glass of wine. It would be nice to have a drink with you when I come home. And I hate feeling like I keep you from having a good time when you could be drinking something if you wanted. But I know that I can't drink because it will lead to me not being in control, and I have learned over the years to see it as something I wasn't blessed with, not something I fail at. It's just like if someone is born with the talent to be a terrific athlete, and someone else isn't. I wasn't born with the ability to control my alcohol, and that's that".

"I love your logic, babe". He kissed her and sank down into the jets.

They soaked a few more minutes and then got out. He helped her out of the tub and they dried off and changed into pajamas.

He went to get her a glass of water, lock the doors and turn on the alarm, while she was climbing into bed, plugging up her cell phone, and turning on the news.

She climbed into bed and stacked the pillows so she could sit up to watch the news.

He set her water on the nightstand and climbed in bed beside her.

"Anything on the news?"

"Not yet, but it just started".

The news anchor opened with a story on politics and then turned to local news.

"It looks like the police strike of the NYPD is going to last another day. In spite of the strike, there was a heavy police presence throughout the city today. Officers could be seen on almost every corner. The Chief of Police released a statement about the strike late this afternoon. It read: 'We are committed to the citizens of this city and keeping them safe. We are saddened that our officers felt they had to strike and we welcome them back no questions asked, if they change their minds. We are thankful that our other members of the force stepped up to help keep our citizens safe and protect our city. We want to tell the citizens that if you need something, the police are still here to help you, business as usual"

Chris checked her phone and saw that she still hadn't gotten any messages from the precinct or from Isbecki/Carassa. She was grateful they were handling it on their own.

She unstacked her pillows and laid down some, while David watched the sports. After a few minutes he laid down next to her and she reached up and turned out her light.

He wrapped his arms around her and whispered in her ear. "I am so lucky to get to do life with you, babe".

She smiled. She rolled over and wrapped her arms around him.

"Show me how much".

***The next morning***

Chris got up when the alarm went off and changed into her workout clothes. She went to the den, shut the door to the bedroom, and turned the TV on. She pushed play on the DVD player, and got her workout done. It was a great stress relief for her to workout.

She went to shower afterwards and then got dressed. She woke David up, and turned the TV in the den on when she was making breakfast.

The Today show was just starting when she had turned it on. As she whipped up eggs for omelet's, she heard Natalie Morales say "Day 2 of an officer strike in the NYPD. And a post on social media about killing cops is going viral…"

Chris almost dropped her fork, but retained her composure.

She grabbed her phone and texted Isbecki. "Today show said the post was going viral. What is the next step?"

"I'm on it, gonna flush him out today".

She made omelets with sausage and veggies for her and David, and she ate hers very quickly. She packed a lunch of leftovers from last night for herself and filled her water bottle.

She quickly did the breakfast dishes and turned to David.

"No clue what time I will be home tonight, honey. Sorry, might be later than normal".

"It's ok, babe, I understand. I will make dinner for us and see you whenever you get home". He kissed her and then they walked to the elevator to go to the parking garage.

He helped her put her stuff in the car and kissed her goodbye again, and then she headed north, to the 12th precinct and he headed to his law firm.

***12th precinct***

Christine and Mary Beth arrived around the same time, and rushed into the office. Isbecki and Carassa were already there.

They caught Chris up to speed. Lil' Boss Man had some friends who had reposted his Facebook status and that's how it had gone viral.

"We think they might be the key to helping us find him, and we are going to try and get them to tell us where he is today. We are going to bring him in as peacefully as possible, and question him as to why he posted that".

Chris and Mary Beth went to their office, and started fielding phone calls. Chris turned the news on to see what the latest was.

Mary Beth was manning the phones, people were calling in with leads left and right. She was writing them all down and handing them to Chris, and Chris was texting them to Isbecki.

"Ma'am, we are following up on every lead. We will follow up on yours too. Where do you think Lil' Boss Man is?"

Chris watched her, trying to tell if it was a serious or false lead.

"You say he's been coming in the back door of your neighbor's house? Ma'am, are you sure? Can you give me that address please?"

She wrote the address down, and she handed it to Chris. Chris immediately texted it to Isbecki. A few seconds later, he called her back.

"Can you send some backup here, Chris? This neighborhood is pretty rough and we won't be able to go in alone".

"Yes, I will. Mary Beth says the neighbor who called, her house is to the right, directly next door. She says you can go in her backyard and use the gate that attaches if you need to. She says he's been going in the back door of his house. Be careful Victor".

"On it! Thanks for the backup".

She immediately called dispatch and had backup sent to the address. "No lights, no sirens, and be as discreet as possible".

She hung up the phone, and waited. Waiting was the worst part.

***On the scene***

Isbecki and Carassa pulled up to the house and parked a couple of doors down. They were trying to be discreet and were waiting for backup.

They saw one car approach and they flashed their lights at them. The cops came over and talked to them through the window.

"We have reason to believe he is in that house right there. He has been coming in and out the back. So we want to have the place surrounded before we knock".

The officer nodded. "I will go secure the back with my partner, if you want to secure the front".

He called Chris. "Can you get us a warrant to search the premises for him, just in case?"

"Already done, Victor. Car 8789 is bringing it to you".

"Thanks Chris". He hung up and car 8789 pulled up and handed him the warrant.

He looked at Al.

"show time".

They snuck out of the car and closed the door quietly. They walked up to the house and sent the officers through the neighbor's yard around the back.

Isbecki was watching the cop on the driveway for the signal. Once he got it, he knocked on the door and Al had his gun ready.

A man answered the door.

"Hi, NYPD. We are here looking for someone named "Lil' Boss Man". We have a warrant to search. Step aside please".

The man stepped aside and they went in. One officer had everyone sit in the kitchen while they searched the house. There was a back bedroom off the bedroom on the end. Isbecki and Al decided to try it. They opened the door, and there, laying on the bed, was Lil' Boss Man. He had been napping.

They put him under arrest without incident, and took him to a squad car. The other officers were tallying up what all they had found and confiscated in the home. So far it was 10 guns, about 20 pounds of drugs and pills, and a rather high amount of cash, upwards of $200,000.

Isbecki shut the door on the backseat where "Lil' Boss Man" was, and pulled out his cellphone. He called the precinct and Chris answered.

"We got him, Chris, He's in handcuffs, he's in custody and he's heading to you at the 12th. Al and I will be along in a little bit, we found a ton of other illegal things, so we are going to tally all that up and then we will be there".

"Good work detective!".

She hung up the phone and gave Mary Beth a thumbs up.

She and Mary Beth went to the squad room and announced they had him, to a round of applause.

She put a call in to the Inspector's office to tell him that he was in custody.

This was a day that was making Chris realize how much she loved her job.

***Chris and David's Apartment***

The news of Lil' Boss Man had reached the press and so had details of his arrest. He was going to be arraigned in the morning.

Christine got home and found David with the news on.

"Lil' Boss Man, the gang member behind the Facebook post threatening to kill cops was arrested today. NYPD took him into custody and also arrested a few other people who were also at the house. They confiscated 20 guns, 40 pounds of assorted drugs and pills, and more than $350,000 in cash that had been hidden in the house. They will be arraigned tomorrow on state and Federal charges".

The next story was a cautionary report about how Facebook posts threatening the lives of police officers and government officials can be treated just like spoken words in public and how it can get a person arrested.

He turned to her.

"Hi babe". He turned the news off and got up to kiss her.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her a few times.

"Good day?"

"Better than yesterday". She kissed him again, and then went to change clothes.

He got dinner out of the oven for them, and she came back to help.

He had made them oven rice, pork tenderloin with a teriyaki glaze and some roasted vegetables. She set the table and he got them drinks. She fixed their plates and they sat down together at the table. He pulled her chair closer to him so she wouldn't be so far away. He always wanted her close to him, as close as possible.

They ate dinner and he filled her in on the case he took that day. He was going to be defending a lady who had run her husband over after she found him cheating. She had waited to confront him when the kids weren't around, and when she saw him coming down the driveway, she ran him over, not realizing that their child was inside and would see the whole thing. He was going for a crime of passion defense, and he was trying to get her charges reduced in light of the details.

"I don't believe in crimes of passion, David. I think everyone makes choice, and every behavior is a choice. You may not intend for the consequences to be what they are, but ultimately you pick the consequences when you choose the behavior, therefore crimes of passion do not exist".

"Well what do you call it when someone is full of emotions and they make them think and act differently than normal?"

"Emotional. Those are emotional outbursts".

"Well my client was emotional the day she ran her husband over with a car. Her emotions led her to do it when otherwise she never would have".

She looked at him. "It's a good thing I won't be on the jury, David". She chuckled and so did he. "I believe in you though, and if I was in her shoes, I would want you as my attorney, no doubt".

"Thanks for the vote of confidence".

They cleaned up the kitchen together and loaded the dishwasher.

She wiped down the counters, threw the washrag in the sink and turned to David.

"I think I am going to go take a hot bath and read for a while".

He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back.

"Before you do…. There's something I want to show you".

He grabbed his tie off the chair and tied it around her head, for a blindfold.

"David, what is this? Come on".

"Ok, babe, now walk forward, I will hold your hand. Just keep walking and I will tell you when to turn".

"David, I can't walk with this thing on".

"Ok, fair enough". He picked her up and started to carry her to the bedroom.

She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the shoulder.

"You are so crazy and unpredictable and I love you ever more for it".

He carried her into the bathroom, and put her down.

"Keep the blindfold on. Promise me".

"I promise".

He ran around like a crazy person, and grabbed towels, and the bath salts she liked. She heard him turn the water on, and he poured the bath salts in. He lit a few candles, and then he started to undress her.

"David, is this something new you are trying?" She was reaching for his hands.

"Hang on, honey, one more minute". He helped her step out of her skirt and underwear and then he walked her over to the tub.

"I am going to pick you up and put you in the tub, okay babe?"

"If this is a trick and the water is freezing, you are sleeping on the couch tonight".

"No tricks, babe, I swear it". He picked her up and put her in the tub, and she sat down. Once he had disrobed and climbed in next to her, he told her she could take the blindfold off.

"Ok, open your eyes".

She opened her eyes and looked up. There on the wall, was a brand new flat-screen TV with a bow on it.

"Honey…. you are too good to me". She kissed him several times then.

"I know how you like to hide things like remotes in plain sight. So I picked out this box from the storage closet. It was your dad's. I made a shelf for it over here on the edge of the tub, and elevated it so it won't get wet and ruined. The remote for the TV fits right in there. You have Netflix in here, and all the cable channels too".

"How did you do this so fast?"

"I took a few hours off work today, and came home and did it myself. Only had to cut a small hole in the wall to hide the wires and I ran them into the back of the console in the den."

She snuggled up into his arms. "I don't deserve you David Keeler, and I don't know whose rainbow I stole, but I am so glad it led to you".

"I am the lucky one Chris. You make me want to take care of you and do special things for you. I was never like that with others, except on special occasions. But you, you make me want to do it all the time".

He kissed her tenderly then, and stroked her hair.

They soaked for a long time, watching TV, and making romance, until the water got cold. He got out and helped her out, and they dried off. He grabbed her pj's for her and after he was dressed, he went and locked the door and set the alarm. She blew out the candles, took off her makeup and came to bed, just as he was climbing in.

They turned the lights off, and snuggled up. He kissed her and she stretched out next to him.

After they made love, they fell asleep.

As they drifted off to sleep, wrapped up in each other's arms, he whispered to her "I am so glad you are mine".

"Always and forever", she whispered back.


End file.
